For the Both of Us
by ThreeLeggedWolf
Summary: Having been reunited with Gabu, Mei wakes up to find his friend is missing.
1. Amiss

**Chapter 1**

**Amiss**

The warm rays of the morning sun shined gently on Mei's belly. The small goat yawned lazily as he turned over on the grassy hillside. He considered whether he should open his eyes or fall back asleep. He decided on the latter, and stretched contentedly letting himself relax some more. After all, he deserved the rest after the events that happened yesterday.

As he lay back, memories of the past winter filled his mind. Nearly starving to death in the mountains, being separated from Gabu in the avalanche, and worst of all, finding the Emerald Forest only discover that the wolf wasn't by his side. He really did think he had lost him forever. All these days he had lived without his dear friend, growing ever weaker and more hopeless with each day. But as soon as he had all but given up, he was reunited with Gabu. Of course, that nearly resulted in him getting eaten, but now the real Gabu was back, and the fact that he was lying next to him on the hilltop where they had watched the full moon proved it. They could truly be together now, for the rest of their lives, living in their hidden valley where no one could harm them. No matter what had happened in the past, the future would hold nothing but joy.

It was almost too good to be true.

He might have decided to doze off for a few more hours if he hadn't felt a gnawing pit in his stomach. Of course! He was nearly starving. In all the commotion of yesterday, he had completely neglected to eat. He opened his eyes to find himself lying alone on the hilltop.

_Gabu must have gone off to find himself some breakfast_, Mei thought. _I think I'll find myself some of my own food while he's gone_.

Mei spent the next few minutes grazing in the rolling green fields, consuming generous portions of grass to fill the pit in his stomach. If he found a particularly delicious-looking clover, he would put it aside to eat later when Gabu was back. It would be just like the first time they met to eat together_._ How terrified he had felt when he first laid his eyes on Gabu! But he had never been happier than in those first days of meeting with him. They had no idea back than what repercussions their friendship would result in. Those memories felt so distant now, like pleasant, long forgotten dreams.

Mei waited atop the hill with the clovers he had collected, keeping a lookout for any sign of Gabu in the distance. Mei still wasn't fond of seeing small creatures being eaten, but he accepted the fact that his friend needed meat to survive. At least he no longer had to offer _himself_ up as a meal!

_Strange, I would expect him to be back by now_, he mused as he started to munch on his breakfast. He was beginning to feel a bit concerned. Where could Gabu have gone off to? Back to the cave under the hill, perhaps? Had he missed him?

While waiting, Mei ended up eating all of his clovers until he felt quite full. However, the pit in his stomach persisted no matter how much food he ate. He was beginning to feel that it hunger wasn't the cause of it. No, the pit felt much deeper then that. In fact, he had only felt a pain like this once before in his life, when he was just a kid.

Several years ago, he was good friends with another goat, and played with her every day. That is, until one day when Mei had stayed back because he was sick. But she never returned that night. Everyone had searched for her, but nobody could find any sign of her. But no one had any doubt what had caused her disappearance. Mei remembered the look of despair on her mother's face after a few days of her absence.

He wondered if his grandma was feeling the same way right now.

That was what the pit was: despair. He had a horrible feeling that something bad had happened to Gabu. He needed to find him imediately.

_ Check the cave,_ he thought.

He hurried down the hill to the cave entrance. Completely empty. Just yesterday, this place had been his prison, yet now he wished deeply that Gabu were back inside, holding him.

"Gabu! Oh Gabu, where are you?" he cried. Why would Gabu just leave without telling him? What if something bad had happened to him? He had to be somewhere. He had to search the meadow and the forest.

His tiny hooves could hardly carry him fast enough as he ran through the fields looking for any sign of the wolf. He searched every hill and scanned every valley in the meadow. He looked behind every tree in the forest.

"Gabu! Gabu!" Mei shouted at the top of his lungs, startling a flock of birds in a nearby tree. That was it! Some of the creatures here were sure to have seen Gabu. The whole forest had been in uproar yesterday over the sight of a wolf after all. He would just have to ask one.

He spied a squirrel on a nearby stump.

"Hey, you didn't happen to see a wolf around here lately?" Mei asked.

"Wolf?" said the squirrel. "No, of course not. A wolf in the Emerald Forest, that's ridiculous!"

"B-but didn't you hear all the commotion about a wolf yesterday?"

"Can't say I have. Now, if you'll excuse me." And with that the squirrel scampered off.

This didn't make any sense! The squirrel had acted like Gabu didn't exist. He would just have to try again with someone else.

A deer, a couple of monkeys, a family of mice, none of them had seen or even heard of a wolf in this area. Mei was weak with dread now. His blue eyes were soaked with tears. His fur was matted with sweat. The constant calling of Gabu's name had made his voice hoarse. Yet, he found the strength to continue his search until nightfall, though in his heart he knew it was futile.

"Gaaaabuuuu!" he wailed into the the darkening forest. "You promised we would always be together!"

After spending hours searching desperately, Mei used the last of his strength to carry himself back to the cave and collapse on the cold rock. He felt completely alone now. Just last night Mei had said that he was having the best night of his life. It looked like tonight definitely qualified as the worst.

"Gabu…" he whimpered as he drifted out of consciousness. "Why did you leave me?"


	2. Awry

**Chapter 2**

**Awry**

That night brought no solace for Mei. Every time he managed to fall asleep he was tortured by nightmares and visions of malevolent creatures. Worst of all of these was a large shadowy figure that visited him several times throughout the night. It had round eyes that glowed in the moonlight, and two pointed protrusions on either side of its head. The eyes taunted Mei with their blank stare. The creature almost resembled a wolf, yet it moved in a strange, ghostlike way.

"G-gabu?" Mei whispered to the creature.

Though it was hard to tell for sure, Mei thought he heard a deep voice reply, "Your friend is not here, Mei," as he fell back into his uneasy slumber.

As Mei slowly gained wakefulness he realized that the form existed not in his head, but in the entrance of the cave, clear as daylight. As the cave gradually filled with the sun's rays, he saw the being for what it really was, not Gabu, nor any wolf, nor any supernatural creature.

It was an owl.

"Who are you?" demanded Mei.

"A friend," the large owl replied.

"You must be mistaken. I don't know any owl like you. How can you be my friend?"

"I have known you for quite some time, child," said the owl. "You see, nothing that happens in the Emerald Forest escapes the watch of my eyes."

The owl stepped outside, into the light of the morning, revealing its magnificent wings, and great patient eyes. Its head was pointed with two earlike horns.

"I first saw you many days ago, Mei. It was a peculiar sight indeed, a goat feebly wandering alone. You ate and slept very little. Originally surmising that you would soon collapse from exhaustion, I took you to be an easy meal – "

Mei jumped back.

"Do not worry, child," the owl assured. "You see, as the days went by, I became impressed with your resolve. You sought your friend, the wolf. Every day you neglected your own needs in favor him. You fought your body's endless call for respite. I developed a profound sympathy for your suffering, your refusal to die for the sake another. So, I became your silent guardian, watching you from the treetops. One night, though you did not know it, you were being tracked by a hungry fox. Well, now that fox knows to never go near you. Under my watch, no predator will harm you."

Mei listened in shock. This owl had been watching him this whole time? If so, why did it only make itself known today? "But, what happened to Gabu?"

There was a pause as the owl stared at Mei with a pained look in its eyes.

"There is more to the story. After days of continued survival, you finally collapsed out of exhaustion. At that moment I assumed you had finally succumbed to heartbreak, but just moments later you sprang up. You looked different; you had an ecstatic look in your eyes I had never seen before. You dashed off in a frenzy, out of the woods and into the meadows. Calling out your friend Gabu's name triumphantly, you ran to the top of an empty hill and, just like before, fell to the ground once more."

This information was too much for Mei. "You're wrong!" he shouted. "I woke up because I heard commotion in the forest! Everybody was panicking because a wolf was nearby except me, because I knew that my friend Gabu had finally come for me! And I was right; Gabu was on top of that hill." He pointed his horns toward the owl aggressively. "Are you saying that I imagined all of that?"

Patiently, the owl replied, "When we're weary due to lack of food or sleep, our minds can play tricks on us."

"No! No! I know it was Gabu on the hill I'll tell you why. He dragged me back to the cave after that. If I was alone how could I have woken up back in the cave?"

Unfortunately, seeing the great, strong wings of the owl, Mei realized the answer to his question.

"It-it was you?"

"I could not leave you up on the hill to die," the owl said. "Using all the strength in my wings and talons, I dragged your body to the nearest safe place, which happened to be a small cave under a hill. There I left you for several hours while I went hunting – I had worked up an appetite after using so much energy to get you to safety. When I returned later that afternoon, I could hear you talking inside the cave. I decided not to enter right then, figuring to encounter a stranger at that moment would confuse you further. You seemed to think you were talking to Gabu, yet unlike before, you were distressed; you believed he would kill you and eat you after the sun went down."

Mei's eyes were tearing up at this point. "He had every right to be want to kill me," he whimpered. "I left him to die!"

"Ah, you feel guilty about going on without your friend. That is understandable. But guilt was not the only emotion you felt that night."

"Gabu was about to eat me, or I thought he was – no he was, he was licking his lips ready to kill me. He had lost his memory of the time we spent together. I was just another well-needed meal for him! I wouldn't have minded sacrificing my life for him, but to be eaten by a vicious monster in the shape of my best friend, I just couldn't take it." He clenched his hooves. I said to Gabu, 'I wish we never met one stormy night!' And then…he came back. He was once again the wolf I knew and loved. He had no recollection of trying to eat me. I was so happy; all the guilt I felt before washed away when I saw the look of understanding in his eyes. He held no grudge against me. He's so – he was so wonderful." Mei broke down in tears.

The owl placed a wing over Mei's curled-up body. "Indeed, he sounds like a delightful friend. But don't forget, Mei, that he was lucky to have a friend like you too. You could have given up many days ago, but you kept going in hope of finding him. A friendship so strong is very rare indeed."

Mei looked up. "But none of that never happened!" It all made sense now. "Gabu was never here! It was all in my mind! Our reunion in the cave, watching the full moon together, all of that was just a waking dream!" Mei dropped his head to the ground, hiding his face behind his legs. He sniffed, "When Gabu said we would always be together, he wasn't lying. because he wasn't even there to begin with."

As Mei cried, the owl wrapped both of its wings around his matted fur, drying off his tears with their warm embrace. It didn't feel nearly as nice as being hugged by Gabu, yet it somehow felt better than nothing at all.


	3. Astray

Astray

The next few days passed by in a grey haze. The green pastures and rolling hills of Mei's home were beautiful as ever, yet they looked colorless to him. He spent most of time sitting in the cave, sometimes resting his head on the ground and closing his eyes, sometimes staring off at nothing in particular. During this time, his new friend, the owl, kept him company, providing food, and attempting to make conversation. Usually, he would only so much as nibble on some grass a few times a day, only when his starvation grew greater than his despair. When the owl spoke to him, he replied in single words and listless grunts.

One such evening, the owl stopped by, dropping of a pile of clovers from its talons at the foot of the cave. Tonight, he was lying motionless on the cold floor. At first he seemed not to notice the owl, but after a few seconds acknowledged his companion with a half-hearted nod.

"Quite a pleasant evening, isn't it, Mei?" the owl greeted.

The goat's eyes looked out at the sky for a moment. "Mm-hm," he grunted.

"I always feel marvelous flying at sunset," he continued. The sky becomes a new world of beautiful colors. Why not come out of this dreary cave and see for yourself?"

"Hm, maybe later."

"Perfectly fine, my friend. Later tonight will be beautiful as well. You see, there will be a full moon tonight."

"Full moon …" these words echoed in Mei's mind. A full moon tonight. This was enough do break his daze, as he got up and looked at the owl furiously. "I don't want to look at a full moon! Not with you, or anyone else but Gabu. I don't care if I never see the moon again!"

Slightly taken aback, having forgotten about the significance of the full moon to Mei, the owl responded, "I'm sorry, Mei. I didn't mean to bring back painful memories."

Mei realized his outburst was uncalled for. This owl had done nothing but taken care of him selflessly, and here he was, blowing up at it over a kind invitation. He felt ashamed.

"Sorry," he said. "I know you're just trying to help me." He took a breath, "but I don't think that will be necessary much longer."

"Pardon me?"

"These past few days, I've been thinking. About Gabu, my family, you… I've realized that there is no longer any place for me in this world. When Gabu and I jumped into the river, long ago, we hoped that wherever it took us, we would be able to start a new life together there. We went through so much together, the Emerald Forest was supposed to be the reward for our suffering. But now I realize it was never meant to be. The night, I was supposed to get eaten by my best friend, but he sacrificed his life so I could make it there alive. But this paradise means nothing to me alone."

Mei stood up with new resolve. "Ever since I've gotten here, you have watched over me. Though I have given you nothing in return, I have burdened you with my weak body. And though I deeply appreciate everything you've done, I must ask that you burden yourself no longer. When we were in the snowstorm together, Gabu and I agreed that it would be pointless to live on without one another. Well, I still stand by that. Now, if I can ask one last favor of you, I ask that you let me die.

The owl was visibly touched, as well as startled. "Mei…" he started, trying to find the right words. "Surely you can't mean this. You must have something else to live for! What about your family?"

"My family?" Mei's eyes began tearing up. "I can't go back to them. They wouldn't have me back."

"Your own family wouldn't have you back? What makes you think such a thing?"

"The day Gabu and I left, the elder of my clan allowed me to remain one of them on one condition. I had to trick Gabu into giving me information about his pack's plans. Of course, I could never do such a thing, so I had no choice but to leave my old life behind."

The owl pondered this revelation. "But there must have been someone in your clan that would love you no matter what."

Mei was silent for a moment. "My grandma would. Ever since my mom died, she was always fussing about my safety. My wellbeing was always the most important thing for her."

"I'm sure you meant the world to her," the owl assured.

Mei imagined his grandmother, distraught at the loss of her beloved grandson. The thought was too much to bear. He directed his thoughts elsewhere.

"I had friends too. Good friends. Their names were Mii and Tap."

"Do you think they would still want you back?" asked the owl.

He tried to envision what the two of them were doing now. Did they ever wish he was back?

"Well… they seemed shocked when they discovered that I was friends with a wolf. They just didn't understand! Goats are too stupid to understand anything but food and fear. But still, I wish I would have had a chance to say goodbye to them."

"When did you see them last?"

"It's hard to remember, but I think I remember seeing them after we jumped in the river. I seem to remember them gathered on a hilltop watching us." He racked his mind, "Yes, I even remember Mii shouting my name over the roar of the river."

"It sounds like they weren't ready to get rid of you."

"But what can I do now? I'm dead to everyone. Even if I came back, and my grandma and friends accepted me, there's no way that the elder would."

"But don't you think your grandmother deserves to know that you're alive?" the owl asked.

"Y-yes, I suppose." He thought for a few seconds. "Maybe you could fly over and tell her."

"Now Mei," it objected, "I couldn't tell her that if you're planning on dying before I reach her."

Mei sighed. "I guess not. But where can I go? All paths lead nowhere for me."

"What does your heart tell you?" asked the owl.

"My heart?" He pondered for a moment. What _did_ his heart tell him? He had no desire to stay in the meadows or the forest, as they held too many memories. Likewise, he did not wish to return to his old clan and try to forget that any of this ever happened. However, there was still one hope that held out all this time. One dream that could keep him alive longer, however unlikely it was.

"My heart wants to believe that Gabu is out there somewhere waiting for me. I just have to find him."

The owl did not expect this answer. "Where do you think he could be?"

"I don't know, maybe back on the mountain, maybe elsewhere, but I owe it to him to find out what happened to him, dead or alive."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Yes," Mei assured. "I have decided that I can't die until I know the true fate of my best friend."

"You are brave, child. But know that the mountains are beyond my territory. You will not have my protection if you venture out into the mountain pass."

Mei gazed out into the distant horizon, back at the desolate mountains he came from. He turned back at the owl and smiled. "Like I said before, thank you for everything you've done for me. But now I must find my friend by myself, since it was always the two of us."

The owl, relieved at Mei's decision to keep living beamed with assurance. "Good luck, Mei. You will always be welcome back in the Emerald Forest if you choose to return."

"Thank you. I will never forget your generosity."

The great owl took one last look at Mei, and spread its wings to take flight. In an instant it was up in the sky, a shrinking silhouette against the rising full moon, until it became just a speck. Mei found himself, for the first time, truly alone.


	4. Alone

Alone

Mei shivered violently against the cold night air as he trudged up the mountain where he had last seen Gabu. He had forgotten how taxing it was to walk through such an unforgiving environment. In the past few hours he had covered quite a bit of ground. He wasn't sure when the last time he felt grass underneath his hooves was. Now, all he could feel was cold earth. Although the full moon did a decent job at illuminating the desolate mountaintops ahead, he could not see much of anything in the immediate vicinity.

What exactly did he expect to see? Why would his friend be here, if he was alive at all? And if he were alive, would Gabu even want to see him again? After all, it had been months since they were separated in the avalanche. He could have found a new pack for all he knew.

Of course, he knew that the chance of Gabu being alive was becoming vanishingly rare. He didn't want to entertain the thought, but in the back of his mind, he knew there was a chance that he would find the body of a wolf without his friend inside.

As the ground beneath Mei gradually became steeper, he squinted to get a better look at the highlands ahead of him. As far as he could see, there was less snow on the mountaintops now than there was during the winter. Still, this place was not nearly warm enough for comfort, and steadily getting colder with every foot of altitude.

And snowier. Mei leapt back in surprise the first time he felt snow under his hoof. The ground was now a mix of rock and ice. At least he knew was getting closer to finding answers.

The little goat traveled onward, until finally he came upon a place that seemed strangely familiar. Looking back to see how far he had come he was shocked to see the Emerald Forest so far below, dimly visible in the moonlight. He realized that, except for the lack of daylight, this was exactly the same place he first viewed it from. He had finally reached the highlands where he had last seen Gabu.

The air was freezing, and Mei's surroundings were covered in a thin blanket of permanent snow. He looked for any sign of life, shivering. There had to be some kind of animal that lived up here that would know about Gabu. Another owl maybe, or even a small shrew must make its home here. However, there was nothing around him but cold snow and gusts unforgiving wind. He was completely alone in this unforgiving wasteland.

Yet the place still had a strong feeling of similarity. Though it was hard to tell, one of the many small hills up here could have been where Gabu had heroically dug a snow den for him to hide in. At last, he came upon a peculiar slope. Unlike the rocky ground he had walked on earlier, this land was quite smooth. While the snow on top was only hoof deep, it gradually got deeper as it went down. He didn't need an explanation to know that caused this. Alerting himself to any possible signs of life, he carefully descended. As he went down, he noticed snow seemed to pile up at one point near the bottom where several rocks were gathered. Was this where the avalanche had stopped?

Being a goat, Mei had superb night vision, and this meant that, even in the blackness of the night, he could make out half a dozen or so dark-colored rocks against the icy white backdrop. He decided to hop on one to get a better view of this area. However, as soon as he put a hoof on one of the rocks, he recoiled in horror feeling it sink into something the frozen corpse of a wolf. As he squinted he could make out that it had four legs and a head with a muzzle and a single ear.

"Giro," he whispered in to himself. The evil wolf who had put his entire pack in danger in order to hunt the two of them now lay still as the empty night sky. Mei could not help but feel a twinge of pity for the creature. Why would nature have it that this beast should perish in the snow, while he, the weakest one, should survive?

Mei could make out that at least half of Giro's pack made this slope their final resting place. He moved onto the next dark furry shape. He recognized this one as Barry, Giro's second in command. He spent a moment contemplating each body, some that he recognized, others that he didn't. There was Zack, and his twin brother Beech, the two that had discovered their hiding spot, forcing them to flee for their lives. Yet, their pursuit was would eventually bring on their demise. Mei had found them terrifying when they were alive, but now seeing their lifeless shapes, he felt sorry them. Like Gabu, they needed to eat, and they found strength in their pack, with their own kind. Yet, he realized, whether we make it to old age, or get eaten young, we all face the endless void eventually. Could he really judge any of them for obeying the leader of their pack, the one that helps them eat to survive another day? If everyone is just playing the cruel role nature gave them, why should any of them be judged for following the instincts that they are victim to?

If Mei still had any hope left, it left him when he came upon the last corpse. Here, the face every nerve in his body had once told him to fear, yet that he had come love so much, had no spark of life. Gabu's once lively body lay stiff on its side, preserved by the permanently frozen environment around it.

Mei did not cry; he did not so much as whimper at the sight of Gabu's corpse. He was merely relieved to finally know the fate of his beloved friend. Mei gazed down with loving admiration at the body that had once been so full of passion. His friend may have died, but he had lived a life of more passion than any other wolf. Using his remaining energy, he curled up against the wolf's belly, which had long since lost any of its familiar warmth.

"I made it Gabu," he murmured as he rubbed his face against the frozen fur. "The Emerald Forest is real. It really is as beautiful as you said it would be." He giggled, "but what good is the most beautiful place in the world if I have no one to share it with?"

Curiously, as he lay against the corpse of the wolf, staring at the rising full moon, Mei felt a wonderful peace he hadn't felt in a long time. In fact, he almost laughed at his situation. How utterly unlikely it was for any of this to happen at all! Every law of nature dictated that predator and prey are never to mingle. For millions of years, all creatures lived and died in constant fear of their surroundings, never finding a place beyond their worries, a love that overcomes their pathetic animal instincts. To every animal, other species were either prey or enemies, but never friends. All odds in the universe were against a goat and a wolf ever becoming friends at all. Yet, against these odds, Gabu and he had become the truest friends the natural world had ever seen. How beautiful it was! To be one of the few creatures to experience a love that transcends the most fundamental law of nature, even for such a short time, Mei had to be the luckiest goat on Earth!

But now, it was time for it this beautiful story to end. If he could not live without Gabu, then there would be no greater way to die than curled up in his embrace, watching the full moon for the last time. In this freezing weather, and in his weakened state, he reckoned he only had a few hours before nature finally took his life and he would join Gabu in the void. Soon he would lose consciousness, and the body of a goat would freeze to that of a wolf in eternal rest. At last, they would never be alone again.

Mei closed his eyes.


	5. Asleep

Asleep

And then he opened them.

A strange sensation had woken him up. Though he was halfway up a desolate mountain slope, Mei was feeling strangely warm. The feeling ran through his body straight to his heart and enveloped him like another layer of fur. In fact, it seemed the freezing nighttime winds had stopped all of a sudden and all the snow on the mountain had melted away. Was this what it felt like just before death? Were his senses dimming along with his mind?

He got up and started to walk around to explore this feeling. Everything looked the same as it had just before, yet some how more beautiful, more pure. Every star in the sky shined brighter than it ever had before. And the full moon! It looked bigger than ever now, illuminating the entire mountain to an amazing degree. Mei stared enraptured at this sight of the moon.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" came a voice from behind him.

He turned around to find himself looking into familiar green eyes.

"Gabu," he said. "It - it can't be you. You're dead, I saw your body."

"Oh, Mei," Gabu embraced him, wrapping him in a blanket of fur. "I'm so glad to see you again." Mei was amazed at how beautiful Gabu looked now. This wolf looked magnificent and strong, no longer the shabby, starving creature Mei had offered his flesh to last winter.

"It's just like before," Mei protested. "You can't be real, can you? Gabu! Promise me you're the real thing this time!"

The wolf pondered for a moment. "I think I'm real," he said. "I guess I wouldn't be able to tell you if I wasn't though."

"When you came back before, I was so happy to see you. But that wasn't you! I love you so much that I don't want to be fooled again."

"But when you thought you saw me, didn't you feel just as happy as when I was alive?"

"Even more! Because I had thought I would never see you again."

"Mei," he sniffed, "whether either of us is alive or dead, I will always love you."

Mei nuzzled Gabu with his tearful face. "I'll always love you too, so much."

"I know, Mei, I know. You were so brave out there, one little goat alone in the world. I don't know if I could have lived on like you."

"But surviving is hard," said Mei. "When we were in the blizzard, I was ready to die, to give my body to you. I said that you would have to keep living for the both of us. But, I didn't think I would have to be one who had to go on alone. And because I told you to leave, you ended up dying. I never wanted that!"

"Mei, it's all right," he assured. "Like you said before, everyone's life eventually ends. I'm just glad I could spend such a short time with you."

"Well, now I guess it's my turn now. Gabu, I don't know I've finally found you again, or if my mind is playing tricks on me, but I'm glad I can see you at last. What do you say Gabu? We've gone everywhere together up until now. I followed you into the river. I followed you up the mountain. But then I lost you. I was alone, with no reason to live without you. And now that I've found you, I'll follow you wherever you go."

Gabu backed up a little hearing Mei's offer. "Mei, are you sure you want this?"

"Please Gabu!" Mei cried. "I can't lose you again, I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Let me show you something." Gabu turned and nudged Mei toward two dark forms. Here lay both their bodies, the goat resting peacefully against the wolf. These two of them lay motionless on the ice, frost slowly gathering on their fur. Mei stared at his own body. What a strange thing, to see himself from the outside. Yet seeing his own body, he realized it wasn't so motionless after all. Slowly, his chest would expand, and a few moments later, contract again.

"Mei," said Gabu seriously, "you don't have much time. Before the sun comes up again, your body will be frozen for good."

Mei nodded. "But I could still wake up right now?"

"I think so. Think about this Mei, are you really ready to leave life behind?"

"I can't go back!" Mei insisted. "There's no way I'm going back to the Emerald Forest without you, and my clan would never accept me for running away with a wolf."

Gabu sighed. "Yes, if my pack and I were still around, I don't think they would accept me either. After my mom died, I was had nobody to turn to. Everyone made fun of me for being weak. They called me a coward."

"You're not a coward! You risked your life for me. How many of them would do something like that?"

"You're right Mei. That's why I always loved you. The wolf you saw in me, that's the kind of wolf I wanted to become. I thought, if I could give my life so someone else could live instead, I would die a happy wolf."

At Gabu's words, Mei felt slightly guilty about giving up on his own life so easily. Was it fair to give in after all Gabu had done? After all, unlike Gabu, Mei still had loved ones back in his clan.

"You know Gabu, I never got a chance to say good bye to my grandma. She probably thinks I'm dead now."

Gabu's ears fell. "Maybe jumping in the river in the first place was a bad idea. There was no one left in my pack I still loved. But I didn't think about whether you still had friends back home."

"But I already wanted to jump in the river with you!" Mei objected. "I couldn't stand living with my clan any longer. That rainy day, our elder told me the only way I could remain one of them would be to betray you. As we stood in the river, I knew it had to either be them or you."

"Well, I'm happy we made it this far. And whether you decide to wake up again or come with me, I know you'll do whatever makes you happy."

Mei looked into the green eyes of his friend, and then at the bodies huddled on the ground. It was an oddly tranquil sight, wolf and goat lying together in peace on a moonlit night. Finally, the two of them could go beyond this world of violence and struggle. Whatever it was beyond here, beyond even the Emerald Forest, Mei knew it would be wonderful as long as Gabu was by his side. But could he ever forgive himself if he never came back to his grandma? Neither option completely satisfied him.

"Gabu, if I did wake up, would you still be there for me?"

"I'll always be there for you Mei! No matter where you are."

Mei flung his hooves around Gabu. "Good, because I don't ever want you to leave me again."

The two shared a long, tearful embrace. Mei nuzzled Gabu affectionately, taking in the scent he hadn't smelled in so long. He savored the warm feel of his brown fur. "I've made my decision," he whispered. In his bliss, he barely noticed the warmth of Gabu's flank dissipate as it faded into a benign numbness. The sounds of breathing slowly grew quieter, until there was nothing left but silence.


End file.
